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To each his own.

Exactly! It’s annoying that so many Americans look down their noses at cultures that differ from ours. It is embarrassing to me as an American that some tourists act as if locals should grovel at their feet for the money they may spend.

We were on the escape last year during the Super Bowl. I think they showed it at the Irish pub sports bar. It was so crowded we couldn’t even get close. The ship was in Miami running to the Caribbean at that time. I agree they should at least have those major sporting events at a couple of bar tvs. But I’m sure there is some huge contract price to show those.

To add to your diversion: you can get sprays that “freshen” your clothes. When you have shirts or pants that are just a little sweaty- spray them and they are good to wear one or two more times. Depending on the destination, I wear my swim suit instead of underwear whenever possible. It’s easy to rinse and dry and wear again. These hacks help stretch my wardrobe and reduce the need for laundry.

Thanks. We will be in Cabo but not stopping in PV this trip. I did find out there are excursions that go to where you can actually swim in the ocean and play with pups. But it’s quite a distance from the port and takes a 10 hr day. We don’t have that kind of time. So I think we will have to be satisfied with seeing the sea lions as Pelican Rock.

Sending prayers for your friend and all that are affected. Also praying this will be like the 7 day war. But when you’re fighting a faceless terrorist organization, who use their own people as human shields, it is very different from fighting another country with clear borders. How can you even negotiate with a group whose sole purpose is your annihilation?

We plan our trips around when we can use miles for the flight. And weather.

Just quote Big Bang Theory ( tv show).

I don’t know much about solo travel other than even with “single” rooms, the cost is almost the same as for two people in a cabin. Consider looking for a meetup group in your hometown for cruise enthusiasts. You might meet others who you would like to travel with. If there isn’t one, think about starting one. Meetup groups are a great way to connect with others who share common interests. I met my husband through a “love the 80’s” group. We bonded over our mutual love of travel and photography. I also belonged to a beer lovers group and hiking group. I’ve made many good friends that way.

We accidentally found a great “hack” for visiting those tiny little towns. While on a cruise in the French Riviera I found several small towns I wanted to visit. But the shore excursions were full before we could book. We found, using trains and cabs, we could easily do all 3 towns at the top of my list on our own. By chance, we did them in reverse of the ship’s excursions. We got to a beautiful little pedestrian only town called Eze first thing in the am. We had it all to ourselves. Locals were extremely friendly and relaxed as were we. About 11:00 thousands of tourists were deposited in Eze. You could barely see anything except a throng of people. So we hopped a train to our 2nd town, (can’t remember the name). The tour buses had just left and again, we had the quiet little town to ourselves. A short cab ride back to Villefranche, where we were docked, and we had about 90 min. to wander after most passengers had returned to the ship. The whole day included twice the sites for about 1/4 the price, and we didn’t have to fight through a throng of tourists. It seems that multiple ships will use the same tour operators and most have the same itinerary. So figure out where and when they go, and do it in reverse.

Ditto!

I think it was the way it was said. It came off very snooty.

I am so grateful for everything you said. You are spot on! I would add one thing many people don’t know about: all lines I have sailed (albeit, only 5, all middle range) offer a “base rate”. NCL calls is a sail away rate. They do not advertise this rate. It is the cruise ( plus taxes) with a guaranteed class, but not specific cabin. You can then add packages that have value for you. For example, we almost never use the shore excursion credits. It’s never enough to cover the whole excursion and only good for one person/ stateroom. We never use free or discounted air. We almost always have miles to burn. So figure out what the value of these extras are to you. Also, many of the included extras only come with balcony or above suites. So read carefully.

Better yet, find out if there is a cc meet up. If not, go to your roll call and arrange one. All it takes is to post a time and place to agree to meet.

We always leave a copy of ALL our travel documents including passports. I know it’s morbid, but we also make sure family knows where all our documents (will, insurance, bank info, final wishes, etc) are.

You can also just go to the buffet, find someone who looks interesting and friendly and ask if you can share their table. I know most people don’t like dinner at the buffet. But when we go ashore we like to taste the local cuisine and are usually too full for a complete meal.

Funny, we sat next to him on a plane once. Nice guy.

On a cruise stop in Sicily we took an excursion to Tauromina (sp?). Our stay there was relatively short due to distance from the port. I think we got there about noon and had to leave around 4. Most of the shops close mid-day from noon- 3. As we were walking around this beautiful little town we heard people in front of us (typical ugly Americans) saying “I can’t believe these shops close when the cruise tour groups come. It’s like they don’t want to make money”. A shop owner sweeping outside of his shop also overheard them. He looked disgusted and flipped them off after they had passed. We said “please don’t judge all Americans by people like that. We don’t all think that way”. He told us the difference between our culture and theirs is we live to work. They work to live. He explained time with their families is more important than pleasing a bunch of tourists, and he felt they were very rude to think their money was so important to him he should give up family time for them. When we told him we thought he was right, he invited us into his shop and insisted we taste some of his olive oil. He gave us a little bottle and when we tried to pay him, he shook his head and said “no no” Moral of the story- Always remember, as a tourist, you are a guest in someone else’s home.

Just be sure not to lose your phone. 😳

I know there are lots of “theme” cruises. Maybe there are some for theater lovers.

I’m not an expert by far. We have never done MSC so I can’t speak to that. RCCL and NCL are pretty comparable. Though I will say the European cruise we did last year on NCL left something to be desired. The service just wasn’t as warm and friendly as on other NCL cruises we’ve done. But the food was better than RCCL. A lot of other cruisers were expressing frustration with a lack of organization on our last few NCL trips. We didn’t have any issues. of the big cruise lines, we actually liked Princess the best. But I don’t think they do Europe as much. We did Costa once- never again!! I think pick the one that has the best combination of price, packages and itinerary. Be sure to include gratuities, WiFi, and anything else that may or may not be included. NCL offers “free at sea” which includes the drink package, some specialty dining, $50/ room/ port excursion credit, WiFi, and sometimes air. For us, we rarely drink, find the excursion credit useless since we can get better deals with Viator, and can’t get 1st class air which we need. So I’d rather pay less for a cruise that doesn’t include the things we don’t use anyway.

I am surprising my hubby with this cruise for our anniversary. I am thinking of ordering something from the gift list, like chocolate covered strawberries. How and when do you get things like that on board? Are they in your cabin when you arrive? Do you have to ask your room attendant for it? I’d love to have them in the room when we arrive. Being concierge class we are also supposed to have a bottle of champagne. How can I get that in the cabin prior to our arrival?

We were on a cruise in the Mediterranean some years back when a crew member was seriously injured. We had to divert to The closest island with emergency services. This caused us to be arrive at our next port o few hours late. I was dumbfounded when I heard passengers complain about it or say they should have treated him in sick bay so we could get to our destination on time. I mean, come on, this man was critically injured and almost died.

I love Puerto Vallarta! Had one of the best vacations of my life there. But that was 20 years ago. Has it changed? We are also fortunate traveling in Mexico. My husband is Hispanic and Spanish is his first language. And I am dark complected enough that people often think I’m Hispanic as well. ( as long as I keep my mouth shut). It’s amazing how different a response can be when you speak to someone in their language.

Thanks for your response. I have a simple wedding band I usually wear with my diamond. I usually only wear that ashore. My husband proposed to me when visiting family in Ecuador. He didn’t put the diamond in the ring until we got home. But even with the cz they told me not to wear it in public. His nephew joked “you know what they call women who wear rings like that in Ecuador? 9 fingered!” So yeah, your wife is a smart woman.